"So your really leaving, huh?" Narri mumbled as she stood with the small company that had gathered just before the town gates.
"It's not like i'm going away forever, Narri. Besides, I'm sure that you'll find another handsome man in Falkreath soon." Balder said as he rested his hand on her shoulder, teasing and reassuring her that he'd at least try not to die.
"Good luck young man, I'll be praying for you," said Runil with a small smile and that natural soothing voice that came with age, he was also the very old Elven man who had helped Baldur when his father died and tended to the graveyard of Falkreath.
"Thank you Runil, I appreciate you being here." Runil simply nodded and retreated to the back of the group, amulet of Arkay in hands.
"Indeed Erikson, I'm sure your father would be proud!" Said Lod, one of the local blacksmiths of the city, who stood next to Solaf and his brother Bolund.
"Are you sure the Leather isn't tight anywhere? Can't have you dying cause your balls cant breathe..." Lod said, whispering the last part as he pulled the boy into a hug, he saw Baldur as a nephew, he was friends with Erik before he died.
"I think I'll be fine uncle, thank you for the armor though. It holds nicely" Trying and failing to stop a snicker, Baldur patted the man on his back before moving onto Solaf and his brother
-----
'On my own now, I should try and avoid Pinewatch... Lotta people going missing in those parts.' He thought to himself after leaving Falkreth behind, the gates had disappeared a few bends back.
Baldurs destination? Riverwood. Just to check who ran the tavern in the inn. if it was Delphine, he'd know that things would go to shit pretty soon.
Of course his system had already told him how long he had until cannon starts but relying on it seemed unwise, even if it gave him miraculous things. and since he doesn't belong in this world, who knows how much of a butterfly effect had already happened..
It took about a days travel to pass Pinewatch, Baldur had to carefully sneak past the guard who went on his usual rounds of patrolling, not because he was afraid, but because the bandit wore robes and had a staff.
He was confident against those who knew basic spells, able to snipe them from afar or engage up close, but that changed when you brought staves into play.
Staves are known for being deadly so why would anyone waste their time putting a flames enchantment on a valuable staff after all.
Skyrim's forests had plenty of game, that was certainly true in Falkreath where trees would never run out no matter how many you axed down, its also why Baldur didn't bring any food except for water in a water skin that rested on the side of his backpack.
He had only taken the minimum, allowing the house and whatever he didn't take to be used by Bolund, at Solaf's request. He'd be getting rent from it so it was a win for him.
The leather armor he was wearing had costed him 23 gold, leaving him with 15 gold and 40 silver, not a lot bet certainly no small amount.
-----
Thwack!
'Bullseye baby.' Baldur said as he lowered the longbow, running up to the rabbit he had just shot from a nearby shrub.
Making quick work of the body Baldur harvested its fur and made a small campfire a dozen or so meters away from the road.
It was already nearing night and his shoulders were sore from the straps of his backpack digging into his shoulders.
'Damn, should have brought some seasoning before I left... No matter now.' Baldur cursed softly as he stared into the canopy above him, trying to catch the stars through the gaps.
He was waiting for his food to settle, then he would train, he had skipped the last two days, he was way to busy sorting everything out
Soon, all a person would hear if they were there would be the hum of nearby insects and the brief but constant exhales of a man training in the middle of a forest.
-Next Day Early Morning-
'Skyrim looks amazing through a screen, it looks one hundred times better when your actually in it..' Baldur thought as he emerged from the nearby river, in his hand was a sharp stick that held a pierced fish on it, he was pretty close to Riverwood now, just a few hours away.
'I should get moving, last thing i want is an animal trying to mate with my stuff...' The thought of something like that immediately brought him out of his daze, with new found purpose, he quickly changed on the riverbed and hurried back to his makeshift camp.
"Thank fuck.." He said aloud exhaling the irritation away, his stuff was untouched.
Speedily shoving things into his backpack which looked more full than yesterday, he was on the road and walking in no time, his hanging on his waist, his bow strapped to the side of his backpack and his quiver secured on the other side of his waist.
'Salmon is actually pretty nice now that i think about it..'
Whilst he didn't take everything from his house, his inventory was stacked with enough to fill a few bags worth of goods.
Items that were of the same kind could be stacked on each other until the maximum of 99 items was reached for that slot, then he'd have to use another slot.
Right now, he had a few clothes in his backpack and his camping supplies with it, his inventory took care of a few potions, torches a map etc.
Whilst travelling, he had the option to take the route through Helgen and then eventually arrive at Riverwood however Baldur decided not too.
All he wanted to do at this point was to get to Riverwood as fast as possible and not waste any time.
Awoooo! Growl!
'Shit, wolves,' Baldur thought to himself, he had barely any time to prepare, the two wolves were already running at him.
Dismissing his sword into his inventory and reequipping it in his hand saved him a few precious seconds that allowed him to evade the lunge of the wolf closest to him.
He didn't however, have time to celebrate, the other wolf had already arrived to the party and was more than ready to ask him for a dance. This was not Baldur's first rodeo, he had killed many wolves before but you never really get used to combat, not when your combatants are trying to kill you.
Baldur side stepped again, wanting to tire the wolves out before he went in for a killing blow, he was not going to take a chance and get bitten, even if he was an Adept at swordsmanship.
'To the right! Now's my chance!' Waiting for the wolf to lunge as he predicted, he dodged once again and before it had the chance to balance itself on the cobbled road, Baldur already had his sword in the beasts neck, making it cry out before collapsing on the road, it was dead.
The other wolf, seeing his brethren die, became enraged, snarling and barking at Baldur before giving in to it's bestial instincts and rushing at him.
Squelch!
Baldur pierced the wolf as it opened it's mouth, ready to pounce on him. He stayed in that stance for a minute longer, staring into the now dead wolfs eyes as it seemingly glared daggers at him from beyond the grave.
Getting up from his stance, he sighed before walking over to the nearby gushing river and cleaned up whatever mess the wolves had caused him.
Throwing the skinned bodies of the wolves into the nearby bushes, where hopefully no one would stumble upon, he continued along the path. He was close to Riverwood now, he could even see the Guardian Stones a few dozen meters away!
Baldur was excited, he had never been past the confines of Falkreath so this was something he had never seen before. Rushing over to them, he stood in the middle of the three: The Thief stone to his left, The Mage stone in front of him and The Warrior stone to his right.
'What build should I go for..' he said scratching his head before setting his eyes on The Mage Stone before tearing it away and looking at The Warrior stone 'fuck it, magic doesn't exist anyway'
After placing his hand on The Warrior stone, Baldur felt a small vibration from within the stone before it became stronger and turned into a turquoise blue that traveled throughout the entire stone before forming a floating ball of pure blue energy at the top.
Baldur didn't take away his hand from the stone, it was stuck t it, even when he tried forcing it, it stayed still.
looking back up at the light show happening before his eyes, the glow now shot up into the sky before slowly disappearing back into the stone as if it was never there.
Only now could he take his hand off and the moment he did so, the Perk page from his system opened up. New shimmering words appearing before dying down into its normal font.
[Perk Page]
[New Perk Added!]
[Warrior Stone: Minor increase in talent will unarmed combat styles.
Slightly better muscle gains/strength gains
+10 Stamina]
[Ding!]
[Status Page updated!]
[Stamina: 200
Magicka: 90]
'200 you sexy number,' said Baldur, his eyes constantly going back and forth between the two pages, thinking about how easy its going to be to gain muscle and strength.
---
"Mhm.. I can give you 16 silver for these pelts or 1 gold and 6 silver, whichever you prefer." Alvor, the Blacksmith in Riverwood said as he rubbed his hands along the two wolves hide that sat on the table in the forge are
"Thanks, I'll take it in gold please." Stretching his hand out for his money, Baldur waited as Alvor put what he owed into his palm.
Nodding at the man and exiting his workplace, Baldur took a seat at the nearby benches that were present all over the small village.
He had finally arrived in Riverwood, his favorite village out of all of the ones Skyrim had. With a landscape as good as Falkreath, whats not to like of it. the only downside would be the future dragon attacks and the nearby bandit camp situated in the mines nearby that he'd passed before.
Baldur had been in Riverwood for an hour now, he'd already gone to the local inn and his suspicion was right. Delphine had been there, probably for years now to try and hide from the Elves after the war.
-Delphine's POV-
'I need to log this..'
"Orgnar, handle the inn for a bit, I have to go do something quickly."
Delphine calmly walked into her room, locked the door behind her and headed into the secret room she had behind a fake cupboard.
Once there, she took out a small book with a red leather covering, a journal filled with notes about strange people, potential figures that she could recruit in Riverwood and now? She was going to document the new arrival that stared at her for a tad bit too long earlier.
Delphine was a member of the Blades, once a mighty and proud organisation that served the Dragon Born's of old and protected emperors.
After remembering how her organisation was defeated and left with barely any survivors, she quickly calmed herself down but not before cursing at the High Elves and their high foreheads.
"So, Baldur... Who are you huh?" Delphine mumbled to herself as she drew a detailed sketch of the young man that bought from her just an hour ago.
'He's good with a sword, his callouses tell me that, probably from the nearby Hold's? Maybe Falkreath, little bit of an acne breakout too. Falkreath is pretty moist all year round... I'll put it as Falkreath for now.'
-----
Next Chapter Preview:
"You've a strong arm there Baldur, have you thought about joining The Companions?" Farkas said as he gave the man in question a light shove on his arm, a hint of respect in in his eyes.
"Not many would choose to engage a giant like that, even if you were scared!" He continued, a teasing smile on his face now.
"Good bow arm too outsider. Ever Heard of the Companions?" a tall but fierce looking Nord woman said, she had red hair and wore clothing simillar to Narri, if only fortified and pricier.
-----
(AN: would you guys prefer if I write thoughts like this?:
On my own now. I should try to avoid Pinewatch... Lotta people going missing in those parts, he thought to himself after leaving Falkreath behind. The gates had disappeared a few bends back.
Or should i continue as I have?)